Does Cinnamon Help Diabetes?

Does cinnamon help diabetes? My knee-jerk reaction to this topic is “of course it is.”

Why?

It is natural, it is a spice, and its flavor is gorgeous. My reaction comes from decades of reading nutrition research. A huge body of research points to the fact that spices have amazing health benefits.

Most substances that carry the trifecta of being 1: a natural substance, 2: a spice, and 3: carrying intense flavor are also very healthy. I can be quick to endorse natural foods, so I decided to dig deeper.

Cinnamon: Does It Get To The Root Cause of Diabetes?

Enter cinnamon. Could one spice help attack and change the direction of this disease?

Many products on the market gear towards cinnamon’s benefits.

People claim it helps them feel better, reduces blood glucose, and takes away their sugar cravings.

Cinnamon may help more than just blood glucose and other harmful markers like cholesterol; it has positive effects on other less-measured root causes of illness including:

Digestive issues

Inflammation

Insulin imbalance

Intriguing indeed. But does the science yet support its use enough to start supplementing?

It depends: Read on to learn more about cinnamon and what we know today.

Cinnamon Research

The first important fact about cinnamon is that you need to choose the right type.

A common flaw that I see over and over in research study design is the failure to include type of cinnamon used and descriptions of patients’ diets.

Longer-term studies seem to show more benefit with cinnamon supplementation than shorter term studies.

Another important fact: No single food, spice, herb or drug will ever fix the problems caused by a fast-food and processed, junk-food lifestyle. Period.

Cinnamon History

Cinnamon is no stranger to health claims. It has been used as part of treating infections, stomach and lung ailments and more as far back as history can track(1).

The few rich people who could afford it in ancient times even used it for embalming in ancient Egypt because it is a great preservative.

It was highly prized, even more so than gold, and used as gifts for monarchs.

Cinnamon is native to India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh.

Cinnamon Types

Not one, but multiple types of cinnamon commonly are sold today (2). The most common culinary variety available in the United States is cassia cinnamon.

In research studies, two types are used most often and include Cinnamomum verum (Ceylon) and cassia cinnamon.

Ceylon is the best variety to use in supplemental doses.

Ceylon cinnamon, preferred for its safety, is referred to as “true” cinnamon. It also is a bit more expensive.

If you are confused by a label, don’t worry. If it doesn’t say Ceylon, it may not be the type you want. It is probably cassia. Make sure to scroll to the bottom to find out about dangers of cassia cinnamon.

Keep in mind, many of the studies that I will present to you did not specify the type of cinnamon used. Some did use cassia, the more risky kind of cinnamon, and didn’t see harmful effects.

How Might Cinnamon Help Diabetes?

Cinnamon may help improve insulin sensitivity, possibly even for 12 hours after taking it. This is because it may improve insulin signaling in cells (3)(4).

Other benefits of cinnamon:

May slow down carbohydrate absorption by inhibiting pancreatic enzyme release. This, in turn, may reduce the blood sugar spike related to carbohydrates(5) (6).

Appears to reduce blood glucose levels, even with as little as 1 gram per day (7).

May help fight candida, a type of fungal infection. Diabetes puts people at-risk of increase candida infections (9) (10).

Acts as an insulin mimetic, or allows glucose into the cell similarly to insulin(11).

May improve feelings of fullness from food (satiety) with additive benefits of vinegar (12).

Does Cinnamon Reduce Blood Glucose?

Cinnamon may improve glucose levels between 18-29% after supplementation (13).

It may even help those with poor glycemic control, but has a more modest effect of about 10% improvement in glucose (14).

Even in healthy, lean men, cinnamon reduced total plasma glucose after an oral glucose tolerance test, as well as improved insulin sensitivity (15).

One study did not find benefit from cinnamon on blood glucose for postmenopausal women with diabetes, but the study only supplemented for a very short duration (6 weeks). Cassia cinnamon was used in this case. (16).

A recent study also failed to show any benefit of cinnamon in diabetes patients over an 8 week period (although did approach statistical significance).

However, type of cinnamon wasn’t specified in the study and diet was not assessed, which are flaws (17).

A 16 week study proved more beneficial.

It found that cinnamon (type not specified) markers of diabetes and diabetes risk factors, including blood glucose, hemoglobin A1C, waist size, BMI, total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL and HDL cholesterol when compared to placebo.(18).

Summary

My knee-jerk reaction was right. Using cinnamon as part of a healthy diet may indeed help many aspects of chronic disease that come along with diabetes.

Add Ceylon cinnamon to enhance flavor and health.

The information on this website has not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration or any other medical body and is shared for educational purposes only. Consult your doctor or healthcare provider before making changes to your supplement regimen or lifestyle.

Heidi Moretti, MS, RD is The Healthy RD. A registered dietitian for 20 years, has a passion for functional nutrition and natural medicine. Has researched supplements and plants as medicine throughout her career. Loves helping people gain function and vitality by tackling root causes of illness.

Heidi Moretti, MS, RD is The Healthy RD. A registered dietitian for 20 years, has a passion for functional nutrition and natural medicine. Has researched supplements and plants as medicine throughout her career. Loves helping people gain function and vitality by tackling root causes of illness.